U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE

ANIMAL CARE

CUSTOMER CHECKLIST FOR LIVE DOG IMPORT PERMIT APPLICATIONS

ENSURE ALL OF THE FOLLOWING ARE TRUE

 I am the importer/applicant and am responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the application and associated documents.

 I am submitting my application at least 5 business days prior to the proposed date of arrival.

 The DELIVERY RECIPIENT I entered on the application is the person or group that will receive the dog at the port of entry.

 On my eFile application, I have uploaded health certificates and rabies vaccination certificates for each dog. 

o Rabies vaccination certification may be included on the same document as the health certificate.

 I have read and reviewed all my uploaded documents, and all the information matches what I entered on the application.

 All dogs will be at least 6 months (180 days) of age by the proposed date of entry as documented on the health certificate. *

 The name and address of the IMPORTER is on all uploaded documents, and it matches the name and address I entered for the 

IMPORTER on the application.

 The VETERINARIAN who examined the dogs and issued the health certificates and rabies vaccination certificates:

o Is licensed in the country of export (license number must be included on all certificates);

o Signed and dated all certificates, using a consistent date format that is clear (MM/DD/YYYY or Day – MONTH – Year); and,

o Issued the documents in English.

 The rabies vaccination certificate* shows the following:

o A rabies vaccination was given at least 30 days prior to date of entry; *

o The dog was at least 3 months (12 weeks or 84 days) of age at the time of vaccination; and,

o The most recent vaccination will expire after the date of arrival.

 If there is no expiration date for the rabies vaccination, it will be considered to expire 12 months from the date it was 

administered.

 The health certificate shows the following:

o Distemper, Hepatitis (Adenovirus), Leptospirosis, Parvovirus, and Parainfluenza (DHLPP) vaccinations were not administered 

more than 12 months before the date of arrival; *

o The name and manufacturer of the DHLPP vaccine;

o The dog is in good health; and,

o The dog will be at least 6 months (180 days) of age by the date of arrival. *

 The breed, color, sex, age, and other identification (such as name, microchip, or tattoo if applicable) entered for each dog on the application 

matches the information on all uploaded documents.

o Use “Other” in the breed look-up field if the dog’s breed is not listed or the dog is mixed breed and enter the breed description in 

the text field, so it matches what is on all other documents. 

o Either date of birth or age is acceptable.

 The TRANSPORTER is the airline or ground transportation company, NOT the name of a person accompanying the dog(s) during 

transport. 

 The port of export listed on the application is the original port of embarkation from the country of export, NOT the following:

o A layover; or,

o The port of entry. 

 I used the port of entry’s time zone for both the departure and arrival times on the application. (This prevents the arrival time being prior to 

the departure time which would cause an error in eFile that blocks moving to the next step of the application.)

 The flight information listed on the application is for the flight that will be landing in the United States and has the flight number. 

*Exceptions to age and vaccination requirements may be granted for dogs imported for resale for research purposes or for veterinary treatment and 

subsequent resale, or for dogs imported into Hawaii from the British Isles, Australia, Guam, or New Zealand. 

Contact the Live Dog Import Permit Team at (816) 737-4223 or ac.dogimport.mailbox@usda.gov for further information.